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Residents urge council to reject Newland Simpson warehouse; council continues public hearing to July 14
Summary
Multiple residents criticized the proposed Newland Simpson warehouse for traffic, pollution, property-value and transparency concerns. The city opened a public hearing and then continued it to a special meeting on July 14 for further consideration; speakers said they had not received requested public records.
Several Hemet residents used the July 8 city council meeting's public-comment period to urge the council to reject or more closely scrutinize the proposed Newland Simpson warehouse development, citing traffic congestion, public-health risks from diesel emissions, declining property values and delays in public-records responses. The council opened the public hearing on the project and continued it to a special meeting set for July 14.
Speakers said they fear the project would bring truck staging, gridlock and blight to the west side of the city and would harm nearby homeowners' property values. Carol Velarde, who identified herself as a District 4 resident, said the developer's promised revenue and jobs do not outweigh the community harms and estimated potential declines in home equity for nearby developments: "You can't ignore the potential blight this will bring to our city." Velarde argued the city should consider other uses that generate more sales tax and fewer negative impacts.
Other public commenters raised transparency and responsiveness concerns. Jean Finza said residents who requested documents under the Public Records Act had received nothing and described multiple delays: "We applied through our, legal advisor for a public records act. We've received nothing from the city." She urged the council to make records available in advance of the July 14 public hearing.
Speakers described uncertainty about the project's size and scope as plans changed through the public process. Several speakers questioned job estimates and said the nature of warehouse work and increasing automation reduces the number of local hires. A small-business owner and construction contractor discussed truck staging and maintenance problems at comparable facilities and said the area's roads are not designed for continuous heavy truck traffic.
At the meeting the mayor opened the public hearing; staff recommended leaving the public hearing open and continuing it to the July 14 special meeting so the council and staff could consider written materials and further public testimony. The clerk reported no registered speakers for the public-hearing segment at the moment the hearing was opened; however, multiple speakers had addressed the project during the general public-comment period earlier in the meeting. The council took no final vote on the project on July 8.
The project is scheduled for additional review at the July 14 special meeting; staff and interested parties should supply the record and any revised materials before that date, and the council has said it will accept public comment during the continued hearing.
